Buckle for locking the straps of a harness



mil 29,, 1958 D. IL. JAYE'I! 2,832,120

BUCKLE FOR LOCKING THE STRAPS OF A HARNESS Filed Deo 28, 1955 UnitedStates Patent BUCKLE FOR LOCKING THE STRAPS OF A HARNESS David L. Jayet, Giez s. Yverdon, Switzerland, assignor to Ammafoco S. A., Geneva, Switzerland, a limited liability stock companyof Switzerland Application December 28, 1955, Serial No. 556,016 Claims priority, application Switzerland January 14, 1955 Claims. (Cl. 24-20517) Divers when exploring or fishing under water carry a harness constituted by straps to which are attached the various apparatus required for breathing under water, besides the tools and arms which they may need. These straps, generally four in number, are connected to one another by a locking buckle. The end of one of the said straps is fixed rigidly to the said buckle, whilst the end of each of the other straps is engaged on the said buckle by means of a bolt. Now, it is always awkward locking these buckles, since the ends of the three straps must be held in position in the buckle and at the same time a member controlling the bolt or bolts has to be operated.

The present invention relates to a buckle for locking the straps of an underwater swimmers harness, and which comprises a casing having peripheral apertures through which the ends of harness straps can be passed. This buckle differs from known buckles in that it comprises a control member which is angularly displaceable and is connected mechanically to a locking member having at least three radial arms bent in the form of a gamma, and in that the length of the bent part differs from arm to arm.

One form of embodiment of the buckle according to the invention is illustrated diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings by way of example.

Fig. l is a sectional view thereof taken on the line I-I of Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view thereof taken on the line II-II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a diver carrying a harness comprising four straps connected by the buckle according to the invention.

The buckle A, illustrated by way of example in the drawing, is intended to connect together the straps of a harness which comprises four straps a, b, c, d, as illustrated in Fig. 3. It will readily be appreciated however, that this locking buckle can also be adapted to connect together the straps of a harness having 5 or 6 straps.

The buckle illustrated in the drawings, comprises a circular casing 1 rigidly fixed to the end of the strap a. The peripheral wall 3 of the said casing comprises three apertures, 4, 5, 6. The aperture 5 is situated at the opposite side of the casing to the side where the strap a is fixed, whilst the apertures 4 and 6 are located on one and the same diameter and at equal distances one on either side of the aperture 5.

A pin 7, situated in the centre axis of the casing 1, carries a control member 23 and a locking member 8 provided with three radial arms 9, 10 and 11 whose ends 12, 13 and 14 are bent in gamma shape. These ends are of difierent lengths, and the three arms 9, 10 and 11 are disposed in relative angular positions corresponding to those of the three apertures 4, 5 and 6 formed in the casing.

The ends of the straps b, c, d are each provided with an element 2 which terminates in a ring adapted to be engaged in one of the openings 4, 5 and 6.

The length e of the bent part 12 of the arm 9 is equal to at least three times the width 1 of a ring 15. On the other hand, the difference between the length e of the bent part 12 and the length g of the part 13 is at least equal to the width f of a ring 15. Likewise, the difierence between the length g of the part 13 and the length h of the bent part 14 is at least equal to the width 1 of a ring 15. In this manner, upon angular displacement of the locking member 8 in the sense of the arrow p, the bent parts'12, 13 and 14 engage successively in the rings 15 which have been introduced into the apertures 4, 5, 6. Consequently, each strap b, c, d can be secured in succession to the locking buckle, which greatly facilitates the fixing of the harness to the divers body.

The locking buckle illustrated is further provided with an arresting device for determining the angular positions of the locking member 8 for which one, two, three or four straps are connected to the buckle A. This arresting device comprises a plunger 16 which is slidable in a guide 17 fast with thecasing 1 and whose end, under the action of a spring 18, co-operates with one or other of four notches 19a, 19b, 19c, 19d formed in the periphery of a circular part of the locking member 8. This circular part is further provided with two stops 20 and 21 which cooperate with the outer faces of the guide 17 so as to limit the angular displacement of the said member 8.

Finally, a safety spring 22 tends to held the locking member 8 in the closed position, that is to say, in a position for which the three bent parts 12, 13, 14 are engaged in the three rings 15 carried respectively by the straps b, c, d.

The manner in which the locking buckle operates will easily be deduced from the foregoing and from a study of the accompanying drawings. In fact, in order to place the harness on the shoulders and back of the diver, it is sufficient to turn the control member in the opposite direction to the arrow p, in opposition to the action of the spring 22, into the position for opening the bolts, which is defined on the one hand by the plunger 18 and the notch 19a, and on the other hand by the stop 20 coming to bear against the guide 17. The plunger,

engaged in one or other of the notches 19a-19d, prevents the locking member 8 being shifted angularly under the influence of the spring 22. The diver then engages the ring 15 of the strap b in the aperture 4 of the casing 1, then shifts by one step the control member 23, that is to say into the angular position of the member 8 illustrated in the drawings (Figs. 1 and 2) defined by the piston 16 engaged in the notch 1%. For this position the bent part 12 of the arm 9 is engaged in the ring 15 of the said strap b. This strap is thenceforth connected to the buckle A and cannot escape therefrom. The diver then engages the ring 15 of the strap 0 in the aperture 5 of the casing, shifts the control member 23 by one step so as to lock this ring, then repeats the same operations to lock the ring 15 of the strap d.

It is thus very easy to position the harness, and the diver can do so himself very quickly, which is a great advantage afforded by the buckle according to the invention as compared with all known buckles of this kind. However, the locking buckle which has been described has the further very great advantage of enabling the diver to free himself easily from his harness. All he has to do in order to free himself, in fact, is to actuate the control member 23 in the direction opposite to the arrow p so as to release the three straps b, c and d to free himself entirely of his harness. This feature of the locking buckle according to the invention is very advantageous, since it may happen that the diver finds himself in a diificult situation and has to free himself completely and rapidly from his harness.

ea? One form of embodiment of the locking buckle according to the invention has been described here by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, but it will be clear that all the members and elements described may easily be replaced by their equivalents. More particularly, it may be adapted to locking four, five or six straps.

I claim:

. 1. In a buckle for locking the straps of a divers harness comprising a casing, peripheral apertures in said casing, said divers harness comprising straps which may be passed through said apertures, the combination of an angularly displaceable control member pivotally attached to said casing, a locking member mechanically connected to said control member for movement therewith, said locking member comprising at least three radial armswhich are bent in gamma form, the length of said bent parts differing from each other.

2, A buckle as claimed in claim 1 and comprising an arresting device for fixing the successive angular positions of'said locking member, in each of which one more of said straps is fastened to the buckle.

3. A buckle as claimed in claim 2 and comprising a spring acting on said locking member and tending to return said locking member to a position in which all said straps are fastened to the buckle.

4. A buckle comprising a cylindrical casing, a plurality of openings in the wall thereof, a locking member rotatably mounted in said casing, a control member exteriorly of said casing and connected to said locking member for causing rotation thereof, said locking member having a plurality of circumferentially extending parts, said parts being of differing circumferential length from each other.

5. A buckle comprising a cylindrical casing, a plurality of openings in the wall thereof, a locking member rotatably mounted in said casing, a control member exteriorly of said casing and connected to said locking member for causing rotation thereof, said locking member comprising a plurality of circumferentially extending parts, a harness comprising a plurality of straps, a ring on one end of each of said straps and insertable in one of said openings, at first one of said parts being of a length at least substantially equal to the width of one of said rings, and a second part being longer than said first part by at least substantially the width of a ring.

France 1912 France 1953 

